Your thoughts: Doing events with other fraternities/sororities?

[anonymouse17]

note- I'm not talking about greek week.

In the past around 2012-2013, the mentality of some brothers was always along the lines of "We do not want to get mixed up with social fraternities." So alot of the times, it was not agreed/voted upon to do events with social fraternities and sororities.

Fall 2012, We hosted a leukemia and Lymphoma awareness event. We eventually found out that a sorority on campus was also doing the same thing within the same timeframe. So it became a co-hosted event. Rather than 2 organizations hosting the same event 1 week apart. We just did it together.

Some brothers were a bit upset that we were co-hosting with a social sorority. The stigma surrounding socials bothered several brothers.

3 years later. Things are vastly changing.
There was an invite by a sorority to join their inter-greek philanthropy sporting event. Several brothers did form a team and attend the event.
Wasn't as big of an issue this time around.

So it had me wondering. How do other chapters feel about it?

-I'm not aware if there is any bylaw against co-hosting service events. if there is. I need to look at it again.


- my thoughts:
When it comes to things like parties/mixers, and greek week. We don't attend those as a fraternity. We don't party with our letters on. We don't do greek week.

When it comes to co-hosting awareness events. Information booths. I don't see an issue with this since we're still doing service. It actually feels like a bit of dis-service to the campus by refusing to co-host events with another org and doing the same event in the same month and they both are basically the same thing.

Attending inter-greek philanthropy sports tournaments. That one I'm not sure. A bit of a gray area for me. Since it is for a cause. I don't see a big deal. But I have a cousin who is in a sorority and she told me about some stuff that has occurred (partying and drinking) at a few inter-greek events. It's kind of iffy.

[Chelsie]

I'm not too sure how things differ for service fraternities, but I'm in a social sorority and we do things with other organizations all the time, mainly philanthropies. We also have what's known as Greek Pageant, where every Greek organization submits one contestant and it's just meant as a joke or whatever. The money from the tickets go towards a philanthropy, I think it was the Boys and Girls Club. But then again, we do have a Sigma Gamma Rho chapter and an Omega Psi Phi chapter and they do not attend these events. Which does actually hurt their image, in my opinion, but that's whatever.

[naraht]

I'd be very surprised if there were chapter bylaws preventing running events with Socials, there certainly aren't any at the National Level.

Social events at least with co-ed chapters can get tricky, but I have seen 1 IFC, 1 NPC and APO all together...

Service projects, why not? I've seen Social Fraternities *ask* APO for help doing the service project that they are required to do by Nationals, because standing in intersections trying to raise money is boring.

For intergreek events, sometimes in a more formal situation like Greek Sing, sometimes it makes sense for APO to Judge and/or setup it up, but for something like sports, why not?

For Stepping at the HBCUs, Alpha Phi Omega often gets grouped with the non-NHPC, so going head to head against Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Alpha Psi/ etc. So that's participating with greeks, just not social ones...

And if Alcohol is involved, *run* away.

[anonymouse17]

Originally Posted by naraht

I'd be very surprised if there were chapter bylaws preventing running events with Socials, there certainly aren't any at the National Level.

Social events at least with co-ed chapters can get tricky, but I have seen 1 IFC, 1 NPC and APO all together...

Service projects, why not? I've seen Social Fraternities *ask* APO for help doing the service project that they are required to do by Nationals, because standing in intersections trying to raise money is boring.

For intergreek events, sometimes in a more formal situation like Greek Sing, sometimes it makes sense for APO to Judge and/or setup it up, but for something like sports, why not?

For Stepping at the HBCUs, Alpha Phi Omega often gets grouped with the non-NHPC, so going head to head against Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Alpha Psi/ etc. So that's participating with greeks, just not social ones...

And if Alcohol is involved, *run* away.

Thanks. great response.

[Sen's Revenge]

I would like to see APO chapters participate in as many active service events as possible, even if they are sponsored by a social fraternity or sorority, including awareness booths/tabling.

That's pretty much all I would like to see.

I would like to say, though, that APO chapters need to be very careful about perpetuating stereotypes and stigmas about social Greeks. Exposure is very important in fighting stereotypes so collaboration is important.

[anonymouse17]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I would like to see APO chapters participate in as many active service events as possible, even if they are sponsored by a social fraternity or sorority, including awareness booths/tabling.

That's pretty much all I would like to see.

I would like to say, though, that APO chapters need to be very careful about perpetuating stereotypes and stigmas about social Greeks. Exposure is very important in fighting stereotypes so collaboration is important.

We can be social without being a social fraternity.

Feels like a great service to the campus and community anyhow since we are working together with other students in the area. Not really doing any service when you outright refuse to work with others because of a stereotype.

I guess one way to address it would be to say, there are goods and bads in every person, group, or organization. You don't have to be like others to do service with them. They have their principles and we have ours. We do things differently from them. They have their own opinions of us as we have of them. No two people are the same, nobody is perfect. Getting to know the other organization is a must before talking about them. They can be wonderful people, we're just perpetuating stereotypes onto them and its a bad thing. Poor character, one might say.

[33girl]

We always did campus bloodmobile w/ Alpha Sigma Tau. We were a smaller chapter and this event took a LOT of hands (in the middle of a school day) so it worked fine.

Like Sen, things of this nature are all I would like to see. The sorority that asked you to form a team for their event like the social fraternities was clueless at best and inappropriate/had ulterior motives at worst. APO's role in these sorts of things should be as judges or refs - period.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Like Sen, things of this nature are all I would like to see. The sorority that asked you to form a team for their event like the social fraternities was clueless at best and inappropriate/had ulterior motives at worst. APO's role in these sorts of things should be as judges or refs - period.

For sports events it can really vary. If they are also inviting a team from Pi Delta Phi (French Language Honorary), then they probably just worked from a mailing list and don't have a clue who APO is (or what we are). If APO is the *only* non-social, then things may be uncomfortable in that there is the possibility of someone being eligible for two teams that they don't. OTOH, there is a place in the middle. If the invitees include other groups that have a pledging process and can overlap in membership with the socials (for example KKPsi and/or TBS or some of the other members of the National Interfraternity Music Council) then it indicates they know what they are doing. I've even seen situations where the teams were one all male, one all female and one co-ed group. (So this year we are on the Theta Chi/Kappa Kappa Gamma/Alpha Phi Omega team) (or for a large APO chapter, most teams are one fraternity and one sorority, but APO stands alone)...